The Lace Market area of Nottingham is home to the highest concentration of listed industrial buildings in England, characterised by tall Victorian warehouses and factories built of brick facing on to narrow streets, but with the large rectangular windows necessary to let in the maximum amount of light for intricate weaving work.

Initial attempts to improve this area of the city were made in the 1960s, but the catalytic transformation of the area began in earnest in the 1990s, with the restoration of the Adams Building funded by HLF.

Today, the Lace Market is renowned as the city’s ‘creative’ or ‘cultural quarter’, a reputation supported by a survey undertaken in 1996 by Crewe and Beaverstock, which revealed that 80% of the 450 firms located in the Lace Market were engaged in cultural production or consumption.

In 2002 the Nationwide Building Society identified that property prices in the area had risen by 28% as a result of the regeneration activity taking place.

The Adams Building
The restoration in 1996 of the Adams Building - a Grade II* listed former textile factory, lace warehouse and salesroom - was the result of a collaboration between the Lace Market Heritage Trust and New College Nottingham, whose joint expertise enabled this complex project to be brought in on time and to budget. It has since been cited by many as the starting point for the urban renewal of the Lace Market district.

Designed by the Victorian architect Thomas Chambers Hine, the Adams Building was named after its owner, Thomas Adams, one of Nottingham’s most significant industrialists, and was extended over a 20-year period between 1854 and 1874.

Prior to the HLF’s investment of £7. 75 million in the conversion scheme, the building was declining as a result of rising repair costs and under occupation. Today, the site serves as a busy campus for New College, Nottingham, with around 3,000 students passing through its doors each year to study at all levels of vocational and academic further education, from GCSE upwards.

Since opening its doors in February 1999, New College has been a major contributor to the regeneration of the Lace Market. A considerable number of jobs have been secured as a result of the project, and it has brought a new type of user to this part of the city as thousands of students visit the campus each year. Economic activity in the area has increased and vacancy rates have fallen as cafés, shops, pubs and bars have opened along the streets of the Lace Market to cater for this new market.

In addition to stimulating economic activity, these new users have brought life to the area, contributing to an exciting, vibrant quarter of the city. The college aims to encourage the wider community to use the building, not only through its extensive educational facilities but also through holding open days and tours. The college also runs a restaurant, crèche, hair salon and other services, commercial enterprises which also provide valuable training resources for students.

In 2002 New College Nottingham received the Queens Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education. The citation recognises the significant contribution of this project.

The Galleries of Justice
In 1995 HLF contributed over £4 million to the restoration of another of the Lace Market’s most significant historic buildings. The conversion of the Grade II* listed Shire Hall into the National Museum of Law and the Galleries of Justice has created a major attraction in the area and has brought huge benefits to the local community.

The grant also enabled Nottingham City Council to transform the remainder of the decaying historic building into an exciting new multiple-use facility with exhibition space, office accommodation and facilities to respond to the needs of the different communities living in the city.

In 1999 HLF awarded the Galleries of Justice an additional grant of around £50,000 to undertake a three-year programme of activities aimed at increasing understanding of the Shire Hall and the Lace Market by people who don’t usually go to museums. This funding has been used to develop a programme of sessions aimed at young people (aged between 7 and 30) and people with special needs. Over the three years more than 130 sessions have been held, involving more than 3,500 children and young people and their families.

The Galleries of Justice is also home to the National Centre for Citizenship and the Law (NCCL), which is a vital resource that works with many different community groups, including young offenders and children that have been excluded from school. The centre works closely with the Youth Justice Board, using the history of the site to engage local people in tackling crime and disorder. Programmes addressing juvenile crime and legal literacy are very well attended - around 500 excluded young people pass through the centre per year, and the number of clients returning with recurring problems is low.

The NCCL also houses a new community gallery, which provides an exhibition space for local communities to display artwork. At present, the centre is working with asylum seekers living in the city, displaying works that highlight the historical past.

Overall, the Galleries of Justice is an important cultural facility that has played a significant role in the realisation of the vision for Nottingham’s ‘cultural quarter’. The museum’s imaginative use of the contemporary and Victorian courtrooms as a ‘living resource’, where visitors re-enact trials and debate notions of justice and guilt, has resulted in a string of awards, not least the very first Gulbenkian Prize for outstanding museum achievement.